From Giverny to Ellington

At about this time last year,  my daughter and I had just arrived home from a trip to London and Paris.  It was a wonderful trip, but one of our favorite days was the one spent visiting Monet's house and garden in Giverny, France.

While there were thousands of gorgeous flowers,  

Annie and I were drawn to the poppies.

I purchased a packet of red poppy seeds in the gift shop that day

for planting at home.

The delicate field poppies were everywhere along the roadsides too.

Ever since then,  I have been on a mission to grow poppies of my own.

Very early this spring, when snow was still on the ground, I spread the

packet of seeds from Monet's garden.  I also spread seeds from various

other types of poppies that I had purchased online.

And THEY GREW!

The first ones to blossom were the very delicate California poppies. 

The petals are thinner than crepe paper and the seeds 

are yellow.  I love ALL of the shades of pink, coral and red!

Every morning,  I go outside to see more and more blooms.

I've been picking them daily to enjoy in the house too.

A taller, sturdier variety just began blooming today!

It's very pretty with more layered petals and a darker center.

This is what makes gardening so much fun.  I don't like to see the same

garden year after year.  I'm always moving things around and adding new

flowers that catch my fancy.  Sometimes things work out and sometimes

they are a flop.

It makes me VERY happy that this is a time when THEY GREW!